Terrence Howard will run Lee Daniels’ hip-hop Empire

Suggesting that Fox’s upcoming hip-hop drama Empire was inspired by the question, “Hey, what do you think happened after Hustle & Flow ended?”, Terrence Howard has signed on to play the music mogul at the show’s center. Following Howard’s turn in Lee Daniels’ The Butler, Empire reunites Howard with the duo responsible for that film, director Lee Daniels and writer Danny Strong—the latter whom didn’t receive title attribution for that film because Lee Daniels And Danny Strong (You Know, Jonathan FromBuffy, And Also Doyle From Gilmore Girls)’s The Butler just wouldn’t look right on the marquee. At press time, it’s unclear whether or not the presidential-history lessons of Howard, Daniels, and Strong’s previous collaboration will seep into the rags-to-riches story of Empire protagonist Lucious Lyon—but if they do, there’s a pretty good starting point below.